iPod How can you protect playlists from accidental deletion?

[kavika411]

Thank you for reading this. Like many of you, I put a great deal of time into my playlists, especially my smart playlists. Some of the smart playlists rely on other playlists which rely on others and so on. I worry because it is as simple as one keystroke to delete a playlist and, in turn, create large problems which aren't easy to fix.

Is it possible to require double deletion on a playlist? Or, perhaps, is it possible to make a playlist "invisible" so that I isn't inadvertently deleted. Thank you.

 

[JNB]

Is it possible to require double deletion on a playlist? Or, perhaps, is it possible to make a playlist "invisible" so that I isn't inadvertently deleted. Thank you.

No and no.

A couple of suggestions, though. As much as possible, try not to have the cascading dependencies in the playlists. I know it's easy for me to say, but deleting a root playlist of that sort is definitely gonna be ugly.

Also, document the playlist rules. Screenshots (at least of the Smart Playlists) should suffice, unless the rules are lengthy.

You can also export manual playlists as text or XML files of the songs contained for documentation.

 

[Cinematographer]

You can also export manual playlists as text or XML files of the songs contained for documentation.

And the best of all: you can re-import those txt-files.

In addition to that, I recommend to backup the iTunes Music Library files on a daily basis, using Deja Vu.

 

[Tom B.]

In the comments field of all the songs in a playlist, you could write the name of the playlist, so that if the playlist is deleted, you are only a search away from finding all the songs from it.

 

[JNB]

In the comments field of all the songs in a playlist, you could write the name of the playlist, so that if the playlist is deleted, you are only a search away from finding all the songs from it.

Good suggestion! It's an easy one, too. Just go to the playlist, select all, and make a batch change to the comments.

Only downside: if a song apears in multiple playlists...

Hey Apple! Howsabout an iTunes update? Playlist metadata that can be exported/saved?

 

[theBB]

I've never noticed that iTunes does not ask to confirm before deleting a playlist deletion. I just tried it now. Oops... Strange, as it asks for confirmation if I try to remove a song from a playlist, but if I delete the whole playlist, it is gone right away.

 

[Diatribe]

This has been one of my gripes for a long time. The only thing we can do is give Apple feedback or this will never change.

And btw, how about a batch export for playlists?

 

[splacid]

I worry because it is as simple as one keystroke to delete a playlist and, in turn, create large problems which aren't easy to fix.

Is it possible to require double deletion on a playlist?

Yes. If you're on a Mac, delete your iTunes preference file, named "com.apple.iTunes.plist", found in the Preferences folder inside the Library folder in your Home directory. This will reset your iTunes preferences.

By default, iTunes requires you to confirm deletion of a playlist through a dialog box if the playlist contains at least one song. (I'm not sure if this has changed in iTunes 7, but I can recall practically every version before requiring this.) At some point, you may have told iTunes not to require that confirmation by deselecting the confirmation check in that dialog box. Deleting your iTunes preferences should reset your iTunes dialog box settings to default.

Hope this helps!

 

[Diatribe]

Yes. If you're on a Mac, delete your iTunes preference file, named "com.apple.iTunes.plist", found in the Preferences folder inside the Library folder in your Home directory. This will reset your iTunes preferences.

By default, iTunes requires you to confirm deletion of a playlist through a dialog box if the playlist contains at least one song. (I'm not sure if this has changed in iTunes 7, but I can recall practically every version before requiring this.) At some point, you may have told iTunes not to require that confirmation by deselecting the confirmation check in that dialog box. Deleting your iTunes preferences should reset your iTunes dialog box settings to default.

Hope this helps!

That's good advice. I'd love to be able to lock playlists anyway though, thereby preventing not only deletion but any change made to them.